Cruz has
come a long way since she and her family moved from a village in Mexico to a
new country with a new language. “I was seven years old when we came to Frankfort,” she says. “There were few Hispanics here,
and no one in my family spoke the language. As I learned English, I would help
translate for people at schools and in the hospital.”

In 2003,
Cruz was selected for Learning to Lead, an Extension initiative to develop the leadership
potential of promising high-school sophomores in Clinton County. The program’s
focus on civic responsibility and volunteerism was a perfect match for Cruz,
who was already engaged in the community.

After
completing the program, she was a dedicated alumna, speaking to students and
local leaders about ways young people could help improve the community. After
one such presentation, Cruz was introduced to then-Purdue President Martin Jischke, who was so impressed that he offered her a four-year
scholarship that night.

“No one in my family had gone to college,”
Cruz says. “My mom completed third grade, and my dad only finished sixth grade.
He wanted to go to school, but he needed to work to help his family. He told me
he’d do whatever he needed to so that I could go to college.”

With her
Purdue diploma in hand, Cruz returned to Frankfort to work in the Purdue
Extension office that first noticed her leadership potential. As an Extension
program assistant she is responsible for three programs that provide services
for young mothers and families, and for tutoring more than 250 area students.

“Working with youth and families is my
passion,” Cruz says. “Building relationships and building trust is so important to helping others. I
want to be someone who motivates others and makes a difference in my
community.”

Clinton County Extension Director Susan Tharp, who mentored Cruz and introduced her to
Jischke, saw the young woman’s promise early on. “The future of a community
depends on young people like Esmeralda, who have the skills and talents to make
meaningful contributions.”

What
began with Learning to Lead has come full circle for Cruz. “Purdue Extension
has changed my life,” she says. And through Extension, she is changing the
lives of others in Clinton County, too.

Servant leadership a natural fit for Esmeralda Cruz

For Esmeralda Cruz, helping families in transition is a
natural fit. She came to Frankfort,
Ind., from Mexico with her family nearly 20 years ago, so adjustment is a
journey she knows well. Cruz relies on that experience in her work as a program
assistant for Purdue
Extension.

"When you are
helping families, it's so important to build trust by listening, assessing
needs, finding resources so they can help themselves and then providing
support," says Cruz, who credits others for doing that for her when she
was growing up in Frankfort.

Shelbi Fortner, a
2001 Purdue graduate, was one of those
people. A science teacher at Frankfort
High School at the time, Fortner recognized Cruz's potential immediately. Fortner
reached out to provide support as Cruz explored leadership opportunities and
navigated the college search process. Fortner even took Cruz to new student orientation
at Purdue.

"She took on the mom role for me,"
says Cruz, explaining that Fortner helped her get answers to her questions and
to choose her schedule.

“The time we spent
together allowed me to recognize specific ways that I could help her and
allowed her to know that I was genuinely happy to help her succeed,"
Fortner says.

Cruz says Susan Tharp, county executive director for Purdue
Extension-Clinton County, is another person who played an important part in
her success as a student and continues to be today as a mentor. Tharp is happy
to have Cruz back in Clinton County.

"The future of a
community depends on young people like Esmeralda," Tharp says. "She
understands the impact that Extension has on the lives of individuals and on community
development. She has the passion, skills and abilities to be a servant leader
and effective community educator.

"You have to be
willing to listen and to look for new ways to solve problems," says Cruz,
who credits Fortner and Tharp for doing just that for the Frankfort community.​